Cradle



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. H. 'MBEKI'N$..

CRADLE Patented Mar. 27,1894

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet W. H. MEEKINS. CRADLE.

No. 517,286. Patented Mar. 27,1894.

WITNESSES: INVENTUR! of QM? 72. MW

A'TTEIRNEY.

TNE NATIONAL LITHOGRAPNING ccMPAm WILLIAM H. MEEKINS, OF BALTIMORE,MARYLAND.

CRADLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 517,286, dated March27, 1894.

Application file September 5, 1.893- Serial No. 484,834. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

1 3e it known that I, WILLIAM H. MEEKINS, a cltlzenof the United States,residing at Baltimore, 1n the State of Maryland, have inyented certainnew and useful Improvements 1n Cradles, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to beds or cribs for ch ldren, and has for itsobject to provide a crib wh ch may be attached like a bracket to theside of a large bedstead at night, and 1f desired removed to any part ofthe house where the infant may be kept during the day.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanylng drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a side elevation of the crib, a supporting stand and springsinterposed be tween the crib and stand. Fig. 2 is a perspective view ofa link for limiting the verv tical up-movement of the crib. Fig. 3 is atop view of the crib bracket. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the cribsupported by the side rail of a bedstead. Fig. 5 is a perspective viewof the crib used in my invention.

The letter, A, in the drawings designates the crib which may be ofordinary construction except that it has but three sides, b, b, and c.

The crib is supported primarily on a bracke t, B, which has a horizontalupper surface, ct, and a down-turned hook, e, attached to the bracket,said hook being adapted to take over a suitable support, f, while thevertical base, g, of the bracket rests against the side of a support.Two brackets thus fixed give a stable support to the crib.

I prefer to mount the crib on springs which will rest on the bracket, soas to give an upand-down motion to the crib. In the present instance twosprings, H, are employed of special construction; these springs are madeof a single piece of thinbar steel bent and shaped to serve as a springand also as a down-turned hook; a horizontal base part, 71, is securedupon the bracket surface, d, by bolts, j, the said bracket surface beingprovided with two slots, j, through which the bolts pass, and by meansof which the distance bet-ween the hook, e, and vertical base, g, of thebracket, B, may be varied to allow the'hook to take over thicker orthinner supports, f, as for instance the variable thicknesses ofdifferent side rails of bedsteads. The horizontal base part of thespring is curved upward at t" and back and forming a horizontal part,4?, which is secured to the under side of a crib-body and supports thesame; it then curves down at i and its other end terminates in a curvedfoot, 2' which rests on the base, 2', of the spring. The bracket has alateral arm or extension at the end of which is an upwardly bent end, k,which latter limits the downward movement of the spring. There is avertical slot, Z, in the bracket in which plays one end of a link, N,which serves to limit the upward movement of the crib; this link has anoverhanging hook, 0, which is connected with the spring; that end of thelink which plays in the vertical slot, Z, has a right angularly bentprojection, p, and a lateral extension, 10, at the end thereof; thislateral extension, 19', projects against a portion of the bracket and isthereby kept in position during the up and down movement of the crib.

The crib, A,may be supported on a special stand, Q, as in Fig. 1, or maybe on the side rail of a bedstead, as shown in Fig. 4:. The specialstand comprises at each'end two legs, r, r, suitably united by a bar,.9; one foot projects laterally from the other; and a rail or support,f, connects the two ends.

In Fig. 5 the crib is shown having three sides so that when it isattached to the side of a bedstead the infant or child maybe taken outand returned thereto without the necessity of reaching over orunfastening the side of the crib. When a stand, Q, is used, a fourthside would be provided.

It is obvious that instead of the spring herein shown spiral or othersprings maybe used, and in this event the link, N, will have its topsecured to the crib instead of to the spring itself.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is- V 1. In a device of the class described,the combination of a bracket; a hook attached to the bracket to takeover a support; a cribbody; springs between the bracket and'oribbody;and means for limiting the verticalupmovement of the crib-body, as setforth.

7 2. In a device of the class described, the

opposite direction from the hook and having a stop-end, It; a spring onthe said horizontal upper surface of the bracket; anda crib-body 15mounted on the spring, all for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twoWitnesses.

' WILLIAM II. MEEKINS.

Witnesses:

CHAS. B. MANN, J r., GEO. E. TAYLOR.

